[This Home page
contains the Introduction and Summary. When you
click on "Full Article," you will find the
Appreciations and Response far more elaborate,
and with abundant katha by our acaryas, and you
will also find the same Introduction.]

Please
note that each section of the Summary is a link
to its corresponding section in the full
article.

UNCONVENTIONAL
TEACHERS

An Appreciation
of the Documentary

"The Universal
Teacher"

Submitted by Syamarani dasi

"The Universal
Teacher," a documentary on the life and teachings of
Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, was
recently produced by Sripad B.G. Narasingha Maharaja and
his production team Devavision. According to internet
reports, the DVD has quickly gained popular acclaim; at
ISKCON Mayapura's first "Vaisnava Film/Video Festival"
it was nominated for best script, best editing, best
music score, and best graphics and special effects. It
has been received in various communities as a dramatic
and, at the same time, accurate account of Srila
Sarasvati Thakura's life and precepts.

The efforts of His
Holiness B.G. Narasingha Maharaja and Devavision to
glorify the Lord and His pure devotee are praiseworthy.
He and his team have shared with the world so many of
Srila Prabhupada Sarasvati Thakura’s pastimes,
associates, books, articles and other details of his
life, in a format which is at once pleasant,
entertaining and informative. The statements of caution
concerning higher topics are both deeply appreciated and
essential to the healthy functioning of our Vaisnava
community.

Of course, no presentation can ever be complete, and every
scriptwriter faces the dilemma of having to be
selective in his/her presentation. In the
process, certain issues are inevitably
privileged and others marginalized. With this in
mind, we would like to present another side of
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's
preaching, simply for the sake of balance and
completeness. The following article is a
humble attempt to complement some of the
historical details of "The Universal Teacher,"
in a similarway that footnotes qualify,
clarify and thereby beautify the original words of a
text. Our aim is to highlight the natural harmony that
exists among all pure devotees, who are also universal
teachers.

"The Universal Teacher"
documentary shows photos of Srila Sarasvati Thakura
Prabhupada, Sri Sri Radha-Krsna and Their beloved gopi
associates, as the narrator comments with the following
statements in sequence:

1. "Unlike other,
so-called gurus and siddha-purusas of his time,
Sarasvati Thakura did not allow his disciples to discuss
the details of Krsna's amorous love with the gopis,
although Sarasvati Thakura did indeed have many highly
qualified disciples. He was particularly disturbed if he
heard of any disciples discussing Rasa-lila."

2. "Sarasvati Thakura
also did not allow his disciples to read such books as
Gita-govinda, Ujjvala-nilamani or
Govinda-lilamrta."

'Always worship the
path of raga-marga, spontaneous devotion. Do not rush
ahead. Keep yourself a little distant and below. One who
transgresses these instructions will be cast down. That
was the motto of Gaudiya Matha.'"

4. A full-screen
display of the cover of Srila Narayana Maharaja's
translation and commentary on Sri Gita-govinda
accompanied statement 2.

The above statements
from the documentary might be prone to
misinterpretation. An attempt is made herein, to posit a
broader context for those statements than the
restrictive format of a documentary for general public
release would normally allow. An investigation into the
documentary’s suppressed themes will surely enhance the
faithful reader's conception of Prabhupada Srila
Sarasvati Thakura and his mission.

SUMMARY

Documentary Statement 1

"Unlike
other, so-called gurus and siddha-purusas of his time,
SarasvatiThakura
did not allow his disciples to discuss the details of Krsna's amorous love with
the gopis, although SarasvatiThakura did indeed have many
highly qualified disciples. He was particularly disturbed if he heard of any
disciples discussing Rasa-lila."

Appreciation:

Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Thakura began his mission with a healthy conservative
emphasis on the fundamental principles of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu's teachings. Documented evidence shows that
as his mission unfolded he began to reveal progressively
advanced topics, all the while making sure that the
foundation – guru-seva and nama-sankirtana – was
unshakably grounded. It is not surprising then, that we
find historical accounts of his wise cautions and
prohibitions, most notably recorded in books containing
selected statements by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti
Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja, as well as other statements,
admittedly fewer in number, encouraging his followers
not to remain forever preoccupied with their
disqualifications.

The ultimate intention
of the acaryas is, of course, not to confuse us but to
convince us that the higher topics should never be taken
lightly, cheaply or independently. Rather, they should
be received with nothing less than the utmost respect.
As Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has clearly
remarked (Dec. 24, 1969), caution is
one thing but "it is not that we have taken a vow to
boycott the gopis."

This section
includes an excerpt from one of his classes which,
although not intended to be representative or
typical of his public persona, gives a glimpse of
the prospect he revealed to the fortunate
recipients of his mercy.

For example,
Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada wrote a
summary-study of the Tenth Canto
Srimad-Bhagavatam, called "Krsna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead." In that summary
study there are six chapters concerning the
amorous pastimes of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna,
including the Rasa-lila chapters. On Srila
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's order, the Krsna
book was distributed in many languages to millions
of fallen conditioned souls.

This section is
composed of quotes from Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada’s translations and purports on
Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, as
well as quotes from his other books, confirming
that one should in due course hear rasa-katha from
proper authority. One should not hear from
mayavadis, sahajiyas or professional
reciters. One should not imitate the Lord's
pastimes or think oneself artificially advanced or
perfect, but one should respectfully hear from
authority.

This section includes statements by Srila Sarasvati Thakura's predecessor acaryas. One such statement is by Srila Jiva Gosvami as follows: " Srila Jiva Gosvami has cautioned mundaners to abstain from such conceptions. He also warns that thinking oneself one of the associates of the Supreme without following in the footsteps of the gopis is as offensive as thinking oneself the Supreme. Such thinking is an aparadha. One has to practice living in Vrndavana by hearing about the talks of the gopis with Krsna. However, one should not consider himself a gopi, for this is offensive. (Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 8.204-5
purport)

This section
contains the statements of Srila Sukadeva Gosvami,
as well as the commentaries of Srila Jiva
Gosvami, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and
Srila Prabhupada Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada.

This section
contains commentaries by Srila Prabhupada
Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja and other acaryas on
Srila Sukadeva Gosvami's verse (Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.33.39), which states that if a faithful person
hears Rasa-lila from the right source, lusty
desires in the heart will be
vanquished.

Self-realized
spiritual masters are the asraya-vigraha
manifestations of Lord Krsna Himself. Therefore,
they have the power and right to know to whom they
should speak. This section includes an
excerpt from Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada’s lecture in 1968, on the Appearance
Day of Srimati Radharani.

"Sarasvati Thakura also
did not allow his disciples to read such books as
Gita-govinda, Ujjvala-nilamani or
Govinda-lilamrta."

Appreciation:

Srila Prabhupada Sarasvati Thakura strongly
opposed the independent trespassing of unqualified
candidates into our sampradaya's sacred treasures such
as Gita-govinda, Ujjvala-nilamani and Govinda-lilamrta.
In this regard, we find a consensus between all
authentic acaryas. The subject of eligibility has been
addressed elaborately by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana
Maharaja in his introduction to Gita-govinda (see
section C below). Therein he stresses that this book is
not suitable or even understandable for everyone.

However, to postulate that an acarya would
banish all of his followers forever from their
spiritual inheritance is obviously a
misinterpretation.

This section
contains excerpts from a discourse in which Srila
Sarasvati Thakura explains that the first verse of
Sri Gita-govinda anticipates the appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The
excerpt can be found in the Foreword of Srila
Narayana Maharaja's translation and commentary on
Sri Gita-govinda
.

At the end of Sri
Caitanya-caritamrta our Srila Prabhupada
commented, "I do not think myself a very learned
scholar, but I have full faith in the service of
my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. If there is any
credit to my activities of translating, it is all
due to His Divine
Grace.

Documentary Statement 3

"Sarasvati Thakura's
caution was:

matala hari-jane visaya
range

pujala raga patha
gaurava bange

Always worship the path
of raga-marga, spontaneous devotion. Do not rush ahead.
Keep yourself a little distant and below. One who
transgresses these instructions will be cast down. That
was the motto of Gaudiya Matha."

Appreciation:

It was not mentioned by the documentary narrator,
but it is stated on one of Sripad Narasingha Maharaja's
websites that this statement is quoted from Srila
Sridhara Maharaja's explanation of a poem by Srila
Sarasvati Thakura.

Srila Sridhara Maharaja'sexplanation was not intended by him to be a
translation of the verse. Rather, it focuses on the
two-word phrase "pujala raga-patha," indicating that the
path of raga is worthy of our
worship.

The implication of this idea is that one can gain
a genuine entrance into raga-marga only by mercy from
above. There is no other way. Such mercy will
not descend upon those who proudly think themselves
qualified, but upon those who, realizing their
ineligibility, humbly worship raga-marga from a lower
position.

It goes without saying that in
practice it is impossible to worship something that you
are absolutely forbidden to hear, speak, remember or
read about. So there must also be a preliminary
stage before raga-marga proper, wherein one
is exposed, in a limited capacity, to the tenets of raga-marga. The rate of exposure is to be determined on an
individual basis by one's
guru.

This section
includes an article written
about Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, the
sannyasa-guru ofSrila Prabhupada
Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja.The
article was written by Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava
Gosvami's disciple, Srila Bhaktivedanta Vamana Gosvami
Maharaja who, after his Guru's entrance into nitya-lila
in 1968, became the revered Acarya and President of his
institution, Sri Gaudiya Vedanta
Samiti.

Herein Srila Narayana
Maharaja emphasizes the necessity for the utmost respect
for the path of raganuga-bhakti. In this discourse, he
warns his followers to be careful not to imitate
advanced devotees.

In Srila Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada’s commentary to Verse 8 of The Nectar
of Instruction, he quotes his Prabhupada, Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: “One should mold
one's life in such a way that he can gradually come to
the platform of raganuga-bhakti.”

"The servants of Hari revel in satisfying His
transcendental desires. They worship the path of
spontaneous devotion, whereby awe and reverence is
overthrown."

Srila Bhaktivedanta
Narayana Maharaja explains that this verse applies to
the liberated associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in
this world, who have come here as raganuga-bhaktas.
Sriman Mahaprabhu appeared in this world along with His
associates. This verse refers to His associates who were
with Him during His time, as well as to all those who
appeared after Him.

Some visuals were shown along with the narrator's
statement:
"Sarasvati Thakura also did not allow his disciples
to read such books as Gita-govinda, Ujjvala-nilamani
or Govinda-lilamrta." When the narrator said the
word "Gita-govinda," there
was a full-screen showing of the cover of Srila
Narayana Maharaja's translation and commentary of
Sri Gita-govinda.

Response:

Here we find an unfortunate lapse of courtesy,
which we prefer to think must be uncharacteristic of his
holiness Sripad B.G. Narasingha Maharaja. While mentioning
Rasa-lila, he might have displayed the cover of his own Guru’s
Krsna Book. [While writing in his own publication that Srila
Sarasvati Thakura did not allow disciples to read or discuss
the confidential parts of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, he might
have displayed his own Guru’s edition of the same.]

However, he decided to
display the work of Srila Narayana Maharaja, along with a
warning not to read it. Are we to take this as a charitable
act of free publicity? If so, we are grateful.

He could have mentioned that the book on the screen begins
with an extra thirty-five pages of warnings to support his
own, yet his failure to do so unnecessarily portrays the book
and its commentator in an objectionable light. By token of the
same logic, Sri Jayadeva Gosvami, the original author of Sri
Gita-govinda, along with Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila
Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami (the authors of Ujjvala-nilamani
and Govinda-lilamrta, respectively) also stand inadvertently
condemned.

Further, in his Krishna-talk website article,
Sripad B.G. Narasingha Maharaja goes on to confuse the act of
publishing a confidential book with endorsing its
indiscriminate study, as if the two issues were the same.
Little can be said to address such non sequitur without
running the risk of accrediting it with substance.

The question may be asked in a general sense: Why do acaryas
publish or even write confidential books in the first place?
They know that most of us are not qualified. Still, like
affectionate parents who bequeath their treasures to their
beloved children on the condition of their coming of age, our
merciful acaryas leave the priceless transcendental treasure
of their realizations in books for their disciples to relish
when, one day, they are mature enough in their bhakti to
deeply appreciate them.

Are we to construe their generous
provision for our future an incriminating act of
sahajiyaism? Better we accept it with a properly
adjusted sense of responsibility.sibility.

This section addresses
the question:: Historically, why do the great acaryas in
our disciplic succession publish or even write
confidential literatures, knowing that most of us are
not qualified to read
them?

In this connection the respected reader is
invited to log on to Srila Narayana Maharaja's
website,
www.purebhakti.com. About 500 of his
lectures are posted on his website, showing how he is
carefully cultivating bhakti – from the beginning – in
the hearts of the conditioned souls.

This section discusses the reason for our titling
this article and website "Unconventional
Teachers."All of the
self-realized acaryas in our disciplic succession – from
Lord Brahma to Srila Vyasadeva to Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu to Srila Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada to his
pure followers of the present day – are universal
teachers and"unconventional
teachers" at the same time; and this section explains
the deep significance of this.

This section explains
that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission - His gift of
raga-marg to the fortunate jivas - is the same as that
of his servant, Srila Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada. His
mission is the same as that of Srila Sarasvati Thakura's
father and spiritual preceptor, Saccidananda Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura. A small excerpt of Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura's writings on raga-marga is quoted
as follows: "This condition of raganuga should be
ardently sought after by the jivas. As long as this
condition is absent, human intelligence remains
spontaneously attached to mundane objects." (Sri
Jaiva-dharma, Ch. 3)

We pray that the
repetition of our worshipful acaryas' statements will be
pleasing to them, so that they may mercifully bless the entire
community of aspiring Vaisnavas with a greater level of
clarity, forgiveness, harmony and respect for each
other.